Ethnography: The Importance Of Literacy To Read

Literacy is the “capacity to read and write” (Szwed 3).Without it, one cannot possibility survive. Cave men did not read and write at least not first. But how did they inform others of dangers and other tips for survival? Someone had to write it. In today’s society, you have to read to work, drive, and pay your bills. We need literacy to live. Have you ever wondered how do we know so much about it? Someone has to study it. People like David Barton and John Szwed dedicated their entire lives to learning about how we learn literacy. Their conclusion is that ethnography is the most effective way. Ethnography is the work of ethnographers, who observe cultures (Sunstein and Strater 4). Learning about the topic in different perspectives, gives you a better understanding of how it works.

Literacy is not just limited to reading and writing. Someone can be literate or have a good understanding, of more than just Basic English. There are symbols, signs, and even numbers. Band students read the symbols for music, drivers read the road signs, and architects

For this, it is better to recognize the literacy practices and events. A literacy practice is “what people do with literacy” (Barton and Hamilton 22). So in simpler terms, it is the practice that involves lit. A literacy event is the specific place to which a lit event happens (Barton and Hamilton 23). You are probably wondering about the difference. Take for instance a band member reading music and a concert. The practice would be reading the music and the event would be the concert. Let us look at another example: reading road signs as you drive. The practice would be driving and the event would be your car. Ok so now we will use natural habitats, literacy in its natural environment, for learning more. In the driving example, the natural environment for you reading signs is your car. All this might sound a little crazy but it is all in the learning